By Perfecto T. Raymundo, Jr.
QUEZON CITY — In the fifth episode of ISTAMBAY (Ikaw, Sila, Tayo, Ako, Maglilingkod sa Bayan) Forum Kapihan sa B Hotel hosted by Ric Sakai III and Tracy Cabrera, Ira Cruz, of ALT Mobility PH, said that they are a transport organization composed of volunteers from the transportation industry.
“We are transport advocates. We are transport volunteers,” Cruz said.
Cruz is advocating for mobility of Filipinos in the major thoroughfares of the Philippines. Mobility impacts on the country’s economy.
“Lahat naman tayo ay pare-pareho ang goal na makapunta sa ating trabaho at kung saan pa,” Cruz said.
“We are here for the opportunities being provided by livelihood. The common denominator is kailangang mapuntahan mo sila. Kailangang mapuntahan mo sila whatever is your mode of transportation. May mapagpipilian ka ba o limited ang mode of transportation,” he added.
Cruz was able to visit even the far-flung areas because of the ease of mobility. “It’s what we call an ‘empowering tool’. However, with the present state of the country’s transportation, hindi sya enabler.”
He went to Bangkok, Thailand. Whenever he travels, he goes to coffee shops, noting that where he went to were remote places.
He cited for an example the City of Valenzuela where there are coffee shops and easy access to transportation.
Ever since 1990’s when the government constructed the MRT-3 (Metro Rail Transit-3), which is a “feeder system”, “trunkline” to bring the commuters to commuter terminals.
“The rail project is good, but it should be complete. When we talk about transport and mobility, they should relate with each other such there should be a ‘combination’ where it works in real life,” Cruz said.
Cruz stressed that the PUVMP (Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program) of the national government is ongoing or a work in progress.
“We work with national government agencies such as the DOTR (Department of Transportation), Senate and the House and we provide them with a sustainable development goal for transportation,” Cruz said.
“It takes time for our people to understand,” he added.
“We work with the municipal government of San Mateo (Rizal), Panglao (Bohol) and the local government of Quezon City,” Cruz said.
He noted that the Commonwealth area in Quezon City has an integrated transportation system.
Cruz said that they take time just like in the media forum in order to disseminate information about the importance of mobility in the country’s development.
He cited for an example that an individual is living in Caloocan City and he is working for a living in Makati City and housing also has a role to play as well in addressing the “stress” on the part of the commuting public, taking into account the additional fare for jeep and another fare to transfer to another transportation mode.
A PHP14 fare for the first four-kilometer distance of travel is computed and a different computation for the succeeding distance covered.
“Nagsimula kami as a volunteer group. As a volunteer organization, we use our money, we use our time. We conduct our studies. We have a paper on the state of transportation in the country,” Cruz said.
“We have the project on the ‘Batas on Bisikleta’. We tap multi-lateral agencies. We also work with the Embassy of The Netherlands,” he added.
There’s an organization called “Bilang Bisikleta”. The number is increasing and the number is in the thousands where cycling is the mode of transportation.
“It is also important cycling as the mode of transportation. Cycling as a mode of transportation is existing whether we like it or not,” Cruz said.
“The important thing is that we have choices from where to choose from to address the so-called ‘car-dependence’,” he added.
Empowered executive, empowered bureaucracy, and empowered civil society are three factors needed to develop a mode of transportation such as cycling, especially in the local government of Quezon City.
Quezon City is also introducing the first Class 1 Bike Lane infrastructure in the country. Quezon City is in the right path in introducing cycling as a mode of transportation. It is just one of the 17 LGUs in the National Capital Region.
Cruz noted that Quezon City is also providing “Libreng Sakay” on aircon buses using its own money, with designated stops for those commuting in and out of Quezon City.
He said that 88 percent of the population in Metro Manila do not have their own transport vehicle.
The LRTA (Light Rail Transit Authority), through the LRMC (Light Rail Management Corporation), is providing accessibility and mobility to bikers who are patronizing the Light Rail Transit (LRT).
Before the Covid-19, the City of Pasig has a Bike Share System and the UP (University of the Philippines) System also has its own Bike Share System for the students to go around the campus and the surroundings.
In the BGC (Bonifacio Global City), Taguig City and in Ayala Center in Makati City, there are also “Hoover” transport system or a Bike Share System which now has a big demand.
“We have many counter-part staff level in the DOTr who understand the system,” Cruz said.
“We are also talking with a lot of LGU (cities) outside of Metro Manila,” he added. Cruz cited the City of Zamboanga where they conduct a capacity-development program with the LGU.
Cruz cited the big role of the media, which he hopes would help in the dissemination of knowledge and information about the mobility of commuters from one mode of transport to another mode.
“As transport planners, we provide the technical know-how and how to do it (mobility),” Cruz said.
Cruz pointed out the transportation system should be properly fixed in the sense that it is a basic service that the government should fulfill.
Under the policies of the DOTr, the tricycles are regulated by the LGUs themselves. The policy of the DOTr is preventing them from implementing their mandate.
There is a study that the TNVS (Transport Network Vehicle System) entails a four-kilometer walking distance, and SM Megamall has a 500-square-meter walking distance.
Because of this, the “sidewalks” should be returned or restored for the benefit of the mallgoers or commuters.
“We provide voluminous ‘budget briefing’ to the Legislative Branch of Government,” Cruz said.
The “Philippine Bicycle Act” is now pending with the Committee on Public Transportation of the 19th Congress which is geared towards sustainable environment to address climate change.
Based on the Bicycle Report of 2024, there are 151,535 riders using bicycles, considering that at present, there is a non-existing proper integrated bike system, and another 300,000 plus ridership in the EDSA (Epifanio delos Santos Avenue) Busway.
It was highlighted that if people are convinced that there is really a good integrated transport system, there is no more need to depend on individual vehicle ridership.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, which hit hard the Philippines from March 15, 2020 until the end of December 2022, there were the “open spaces” that sprouted in densely-populated areas across the country.
